Oct 29 (Reuters) - Business software maker Salesforce said on Thursday it would buy defense technology company Rune Technologies to expand its Missionforce business, which serves the US military and government agencies.
Rune makes AI-powered software that helps troops forecast supply needs, plan the use of resources and decide where to send them, including in places with little or no network connection.
• The US Army and US Marine Corps already use Rune's technology, Salesforce said
• The financial terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed
• Salesforce said a year after the launch of Missionforce, its defense business was growing 80% year-over-year, with customers in all six branches of the US military
• Salesforce has been broadening its AI offerings through acquisitions as investors worry that fast AI adoption could erode demand for traditional software
• It agreed to buy AI marketing software maker Braze for about $5.66 billion last week, signed a $3.6 billion deal for AI agent platform Fin earlier this year and an $8 billion deal for Informatica last year
• The Rune deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Salesforce's fiscal year 2027
(Reporting by Anzar Mehraj in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Ananda)